


You As You Were

by a_pious_cruelty



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 21:25:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1137560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_pious_cruelty/pseuds/a_pious_cruelty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Clint put down his binoculars. “No sign of Andres,” he said. He glanced over at Bucky. “You ever gonna cut your hair, Barnes?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“What?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“You look like a serial killer,” Clint said. </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“I don’t look like a serial killer,” Bucky said.</i>
</p>
<p>SHIELD partners Bucky with Clint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You As You Were

Ten minutes after Clint had gotten up from his seat and muttered that he'd be right back, Bucky went to look for him. He'd thought Clint had just gone to take a leak, but he wasn't in the bathroom, and Bucky couldn't see him anywhere in the bar. 

Fuck. They’d captured the leader of the French AIM cell already. This was supposed to be just them going out for a post-mission drink. Some kind of bonding thing, but if Clint had gotten his ass captured by some other member of the cell--

He pushed open the door leading to the back alley, already preparing himself for the call to SHIELD. Not that he'd need their help to track Clint down, but goddamn were they going to give him a hard time. 

He spotted Clint before he noticed the man kneeling in front of him. He stopped short. The man was sucking Clint's cock. Clint was looking down at him, watching as he took down his cock, moving his hips just a little. He grabbed a fistful of the guy's hair and made a small choked noise and then—and then Bucky was inside, walking back to his seat. Some fifteen minutes later Clint sat down next to him. 

Bucky didn’t say anything.

:::

"Your view sucks," Bucky said, pulling the cap of his beer off with his metal hand. "Captain America should be able to afford a better view." 

Steve frowned and put aside the bottle opener he'd offered Bucky. "I like this place," he said. "It's got character." 

"Yeah, right," Bucky said. It was better than the place they'd shared before the war, but not much better. Steve deserved much better. 

Bucky took a swig of beer. "You never asked how the mission went." 

"Figured you'd been sworn to secrecy," Steve said. 

"It should be us," Bucky said. 

Again, Steve frowned. "It's different now, Bucky."

"Bullshit," Bucky said, slamming his beer down on the plastic table. "I know you did missions for them. I can't corrupt you, and you sure as hell can't corrupt me." 

"Clint's a good man," Steve said. He had that look on his face again, stricken, like all he wanted to do was save Bucky from himself. 

"He's not you," Bucky said. He picked up his beer and drank in silence. 

"You're wrong, anyway," Steve said. "We were always bad influences on each other." 

Bucky grinned. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you're right. But it should still be us."

“I’m not a SHIELD agent, not anymore,” Steve said. “I’m an Avenger. And you’re--”

“A fucking problem,” Bucky said. He didn’t look at Steve, just looked out at Steve’s shitty view of the city. 

“Bucky,” Steve started. 

Bucky waved his hand. “Forget it,” he said. “I’ll play nice with Barton. I promise.”

He glanced at Steve, who predictably had that concerned, semi-constipated look that he got a lot lately, whenever he was with Bucky. “It won’t always be like this,” he said.

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “Sure.”

::: 

Their second mission was in Russia. Bucky knew Fury was testing him with this one. Target was an old Soviet leader, a man who’d been involved with the Red Room program in the seventies. No one of particular importance, but one of the Red Rooms had been activated again. This guy was a good start for information. 

Fury expected this to be personal for Bucky, and it was. But he could handle it. 

They found Krupin in Volograd, hiding out in an abandoned factory. He didn’t know much, just enough to get them on a lead to Moscow. The guy, Sokolov, wasn’t hiding. He was young, too young to remember Bucky or the Winter Soldier legend. He gave up his information as soon as a gun was put to his head. 

The guy behind the Red Room was Kaminski. Sokolov told them where to find him, and when he and Clint got into the car, Bucky figured they’d be going after Kaminski. 

“Nat’s got this one,” Clint said. “We’ve got the night off.” 

“Fury doesn’t trust me with this guy,” Bucky said. 

Clint shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him.”

“You don’t trust me either,” Bucky said. 

“I didn’t say that,” Clint said. They rode in silence until Clint pulled up to a place where they could rent a room for the night. “We’ll be picked up in the morning. For tonight, I want to see how well an American turned Russian handles vodka.”

They sat on the floor of the room with two shot glasses and a bottle of good vodka. 

“Nat always beats my ass at drinking,” Clint said, pouring out two shots. “Let’s see if I can beat you.”

Bucky knew he couldn’t, but he didn’t say anything. He tossed the shot back and poured their next shot. “Why you?” he said. “Steve’s not an agent, I got that. And I guess they wouldn’t trust me and Natalia together. But why’d they pick you?”

Clint chuckled. “You get right to the point, don’t you?” He took his second shot. “I’m the second best agent in SHIELD. If anyone can keep a former Soviet super spy in line, it’s me. And Nat would be here, but you’re right. Not so much Fury, but there are people concerned about you and Nat even being in the same room.”

“You call her Nat,” Bucky said. “You’re close to her.”

“We never had a thing, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Clint said. “She’s not exactly my type.”

“What is your type?” Bucky said, thinking of the man kneeling in front of Clint, mouth on his cock. Dark hair, that’s all Bucky remembered about him. 

Clint leaned back against the bed. “Tall, dark, handsome.” He gave Bucky a sly grin. 

Bucky didn’t know what to say to that, so he took another shot. He could outdrink Clint, no problem, but the alcohol was starting to work on him. “I saw you,” he said, without meaning to. 

“Yeah? Doing what?”

“You know what I saw,” Bucky said, because he could read it in Clint’s voice. 

Clint shrugged and took another shot. “Won’t happen again.” He eyed Bucky. “This gonna be a problem?”

“No,” Bucky said. 

He outdrank Clint, just as he’d expected he would. Clint was a sore loser, cursing as he crawled into bed. 

Bucky sat up for a while, just watching Clint. 

“Don’t be fucking creepy,” Clint said. “I know you’re watching me.”

Bucky muttered an apology and lay down in his bed. 

:::

“You got Kaminski,” Bucky said to Natasha. It wasn’t a question; he knew she’d gotten him. 

“Yes,” she said, motioning for him to sit next to her on the couch. She wanted him to watch some show she liked. Lost, he thought it was called. “SHIELD’s tracking down the graduates of this Red Room.”

“What’ll SHIELD do with them?” he asked. 

“Same as they did with you, and me,” she said, turning on the television. “Try to make assets out of them. They’ll cooperate, most likely.”

“What makes you think that?”

“This is not the Russia that was,” Natasha said. “They’re trying to resurrect Russia as she was, but they won’t.” 

“Because of you and SHIELD,” Bucky said. 

Natasha looked over at him. “Because of many people.” The menu appeared on the screen, but Natasha didn’t start the show. “You’re having doubts.”

“No,” Bucky said. 

“It’s still your choice, James,” Natasha said. “You’ll be monitored if you leave SHIELD, but--”

“They’re already monitoring me,” he said. 

She gave him a little smile. “I went through the same thing. You can earn their trust, if you want it.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess.”

Natasha switched on the show, and Bucky didn’t say anything more about SHIELD. 

“How’s Clint?” Natasha asked, a few minutes later. 

“Don’t you talk to him?”

Natasha flicked his ear. “You know what I mean,” she said. 

“He’s good,” he said. “If I had to pick a partner other than you or Steve, he’d do.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “He’s better than good,” she said. “You know it.”

“He’s not you,” Bucky said. “He’s not Steve.”

“You’re lucky to be working with him,” Natasha said. “And you’ll work with Steve again. Even SHIELD can’t stop that.”

“I’m a bad influence.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Natasha said, smiling. They lapsed into silence again. 

Bucky thought about saying something more about Clint, but he kept quiet. 

:::

Clint put down his binoculars. “No sign of Andres,” he said. He glanced over at Bucky. “You ever gonna cut your hair, Barnes?”

“What?”

“You look like a serial killer,” Clint said. 

“I don’t look like a serial killer,” Bucky said. 

“Yeah, you do,” Clint said. “I’ve seen old photos of you. You looked better then. Not like you were about to snap someone’s neck.”

Bucky tightened his hands into fists. “I was different then,” he said. 

Clint hummed. “Yeah,” he said, “and now you’re not the Winter Soldier.”

Bucky forced his hands to relax. “Just out of curiosity,” he said, “do you ever stop talking?” 

“This is a stakeout,” Clint said. “Nothing much to do except talk and watch.” 

“I’m not cutting my hair,” Bucky said. 

Clint put up his hands in surrender. “Fine,” he said. “No haircuts. You could smile more, though.”

He was quiet then, and Bucky was grateful for that. It lasted only a few minutes. 

“What’s your deal with Tash?” Clint said. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bucky said. 

“Well,” Clint said, “you and she used to be together. You two pick up where you left off?”

“We’re not talking about her,” Bucky said. He grabbed the binoculars from Clint and peered out over the ridge. 

“Touchy,” Clint said. 

“Shut up,” Bucky said. “Someone’s coming.” 

A black car pulled up to the gate. He couldn’t make out the driver or the passenger. The gate opened, and the car went through. 

“Think we should move on it?” Bucky said, looking over at Clint. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” Clint said. He took out the guard with an arrow, and then shot a second arrow to disable the alarm on the gate. They made their way down and scaled the gate, dropping down behind it. 

There were two more guards outside the warehouse. He and Clint took them out silently and entered the warehouse. 

It was an easy take-down. Andres had men but not enough, and after a brief firefight, they had Andres and the weapons they’d been tracking across Europe. 

“Nice work,” Clint said, holding out his fist.

Bucky stared at him. 

“Never mind.” Clint switched on his comm. “We got Andres. Send in the team to pick him up.”

:::

Bucky caught the punching bag as it swung back from Natasha’s hit. 

“Surprised to see you here,” Natasha said, turning and kicking the punching back hard enough to make Bucky take a step back. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but it is Avengers Tower.”

“Barton gave me the code,” Bucky said. 

“Really?” Natasha’s eyebrow went up. “Does Stark know?”

“Probably not,” Bucky said. 

Natasha smiled. “You two are getting along,” she said. “Spar?”

He’d been expecting her to challenge him to spar, so he nodded. They both knew each other too well, could anticipate each other’s moves too easily, but it was a good workout anyway. 

“He asked about us,” Bucky said, catching Natasha’s arm and twisting it behind her back. She flipped him over. He jumped to his feet. 

“Oh?” Natasha said, ducking to avoid his arm. 

“Yeah,” he said. He tried to get a grip on her, but she slid away. “Wanted to know what are deal is.”

Natasha stopped. “What do you think our deal is?”

Bucky shrugged. “I thought—I don’t know.” He moved to put his hands on her waist, but she stepped away. 

“I’m with someone, James,” she said, quietly. 

“Oh,” he said. “Who?”

“You haven’t met her yet,” Natasha said. She turned and picked up her duffel back, moving to go to the showers. 

Bucky followed her. “Wait,” he said, “her?”

Natasha peeled off her clothing and started the shower. “She’s a SHIELD agent,” she said, as she stepped into the shower. “Jessica Drew.” She looked over at him. “You can leave now.”

Bucky didn’t move. “Since when are you…?” 

“The word is bisexual, James,” she said. “And a long time, now.” She gave him another pointed look, and Bucky backed out. 

He’d left the tower and was heading home when his cell phone rang. Steve’s ringtone. “Hey,” he said. 

“We’re going out tonight,” Steve said. 

Bucky grinned.

:::

When Steve had said they were going out, he’d expected it would just be them, like always. But it turned out the outing was Stark’s idea, and he’d invited Steve, Barton, Banner, and Thor. Stark didn’t say anything, but Bucky could tell that he hadn’t expected Steve to invite Bucky to come along. 

They went to a club that was too loud and not like the bar he and Steve usually went to. The drinks were good, though, and Stark covered the tab. The girls were pretty, but it had been so long since he’d been with a woman other than Natasha. 

Stark forced Banner to dance with a girl half his age, who hung all over him and—if Bucky’s lip-reading was right—told him that she loved older men. The girl was attractive, but Bucky felt bad for the guy. He looked really uncomfortable dancing with the girl. 

A few minutes after Banner got away from the girl and returned to their table, Clint came over and tugged Bucky to his feet. 

“Come here, Barnes,” Clint said, almost yelling over the music. “I’ve got a girl who wants to meet you.”

The girl was a cute brunette who came up to Bucky’s chest and giggled a lot. “I love your hair!” she said and ran her fingers through his hair. 

He tried to flirt back, but he was distracted by Clint, who was dancing with some guy. They weren’t kissing, but they were pressed against each other. The guy grabbed Clint’s ass, and Clint leaned forward to say something into the guy’s ear. They left the dance floor, probably to go back to the guy’s place. 

The girl—Alice—took him home that night. She climbed on top of Bucky and rode him, and Bucky grabbed her breasts and thought about what Clint was doing with that guy. 

He left once she fell asleep.

The next day, he had coffee with Steve. 

“So,” Steve said, grinning. “You had a good night.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “She was a nice girl.”

“Didn’t think that was your type,” Steve said. 

Bucky shrugged. “She gave me her number,” he said. 

“You gonna use it?”

“Probably not,” Bucky said. He’d already thrown it away. “She’s nice, but you’re right. She’s not my type.”

“What about--”

“She’s got a girlfriend,” Bucky said, knowing exactly what Steve was about to say.

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Natasha?” He thought about it. “Like they mean these days, right? A girlfriend like a partner?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Surprised me too, but Natalia said she’d introduce me. Jessica Drew, her name is.”

“Huh,” Steve said. “I know her. She’s nice. A little weird, but nice.”

“I didn’t think Nat did nice either,” Bucky said. 

“Sometimes people change,” Steve said. 

:::

“Don’t kill him,” Clint muttered to Bucky. 

“I’m not going to kill him,” Bucky said. His first instinct was to kill the guard, yes, but he was only going to take him down so that he and Clint could get into the compound. It was another weapons retrieval mission, easy stuff. Bucky was starting to get bored. 

Bucky took the shot, and the guard went down. He wasn’t dead. 

“Told you,” Bucky said, as they took off down the hill. 

It was a paint-by-the-numbers mission: firefight and take-down, all relatively easy. When the SHIELD team came in, Bucky approached Clint’s handler—technically his handler too. “Agent Feld,” he said. “You and I both know that I can handle bigger missions than this.”

“You are on a long-term probation, Barnes,” Feld said. “You will get sent on missions more suited to your skills when we’re certain we can trust you.”

Bucky was going to argue with him, but Clint stepped in before he could start. “Come on,” Clint said. “We’re taking off now.”

“You don’t have to save me from myself,” Bucky said, as they got onto the plane. 

“Apparently I do,” Clint said. “Feld doesn’t take well to insubordination. Believe it or not, you’re lucky to be with me in the field. Keep mouthing off and you’ll be off missions entirely.”

“I can do better than this,” Bucky said. 

“All right, you want to work off some steam,” Clint said. “We get home, we’ll spar. You can show me just how much better you can do.”

Bucky didn’t think that would help, but he nodded. He’d never sparred with Clint, and he wanted to. He’d seen a little of what Clint was capable of in the field, but just a little. He wanted more. 

Their mission was in New Mexico, so it didn’t take long for them to reach New York. A car brought them to Avengers Tower, and they took the elevator up to the gym. 

“Stark caught you here yet?” Clint said, shedding his jacket. 

“No,” Bucky said. “You ever tell him you gave me the code?”

“No,” Clint said. “You make him nervous. Russian guy tried to kill him and Pepper once.”

“How’s he feel about Natalia?” 

“He knows she could kill him with her pinky, but I think he kind of finds that hot,” Clint said.

They started to spar, Clint taking the lead. Bucky could see a bit of Natasha’s methods in his moves. It gave him an advantage, but it took him a while to take Clint down. He ended up on top of Clint, straddling his hips. 

Clint looked up at him, smirking. “All right, you got me,” he said. He made no move to push Bucky off, just kept looking up at him, like he was waiting for something. 

Bucky looked down at him. He thought about leaning down—but he jerked back, got to his feet. 

Clint got up and said. “Wanna crash here? Tony keeps rooms for all of us.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “Sure.”

He slept on the couch in Clint’s room, though he got the feeling that Clint would have let him share the bed. 

:::

Jessica smiled at him and held out her hand. “Hey,” she said. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard of you.”

Bucky shook her hand. “From Natalia or SHIELD?”

“A bit of both,” Jessica said. “Mostly good stuff from Nat.” She sat down next to Natasha. “Come, sit. Tell me about yourself.”

“You kind of already know all there is to know,” he said. 

“Nah,” Jessica said. “I know the Winter Soldier stuff. I don’t know you. Should I call you Bucky or James?”

“Bucky,” he said. “Only Natalia calls me James, these days.”

“All right, Bucky then,” Jessica said. She sipped her wine. “Hmm. See I know the legend, I know you were with Nat—but what about Bucky?”

“I’ve been around for a long time,” he said. “Not sure where to start.”

“How’d you meet Steve?” she asked. 

Bucky told her about the orphanage, about the boy who never backed down from a fight, even though he always lost. Jessica listened and laughed and asked questions, and Natasha interjected comments and questions of her own. 

Jessica told him about herself. How her parents were Hydra agents, how she’d once been a Hydra agent herself. “So I kind of get it, you know,” she said. “Working for the wrong side. Coming into SHIELD as the bad guy. I bet it sucks right now, but gets better.” 

Natasha took her hand, and they shared a look. 

And yeah, it hurt a little to see Natasha with someone else, but at least Bucky could see that Jessica cared about Natasha. 

They spent the rest of the evening sharing stories and drinking and laughing. It was nice. It was almost like being normal. 

It was late when he left. Natasha kissed his cheek, murmuring a thank you in his ear. 

:::

Clint showed up at his door the next day. “Hey,” he said. “Thought I’d let you know in person. You have a mission tomorrow, and it’s not with me.”

Bucky stepped aside to let Clint in. “Who’s it with?” he asked, expecting he’d say Natasha. 

“Agent Colton,” Clint said. He looked around the place and shook his head. “Jesus, this is how you live? Where’s all your stuff?”

“I don’t have much stuff,” Bucky said. “Who’s Colton?”

“Level eight,” Clint said. “Not a bad agent. You’ll do just fine with him.”

“For what? Another errand for SHIELD? They’re wasting my time,” Bucky said. “If it can’t be Natalia, it should be you.”

“I’m touched,” Clint said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Look, I didn’t ask them to do this. I like working with you. And you’re right, you should be on bigger missions. But you’re still building their trust. Just go along with this.”

“I’m not going with Colton,” Bucky said. 

“Your place is creeping me out,” Clint said, ignoring him. “Come on. Let’s go buy you some stuff.” 

“I don’t need stuff,” Bucky said. “I want to talk to Fury.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Clint said. “Grab your coat. I’ve got an Avengers credit card. We’ll get you a rug or something.”

Clint took him to Ikea. “I know you’re pissed,” he said, flipping through the rugs. “I’m not happy about it either. But I don’t think it’s Fury. Fury’s got an interest in you, he’s keeping an eye on you, but he’s not taking charge of what happens to you. It’s Hill. I think she wants me for Avengers stuff.”

“You’re a SHIELD agent,” Bucky said. 

“And an Avenger,” Clint said. “It’s mostly publicity crap. Taking down wannabe supervillains that are popping up. Did you see that guy who went after Tony? Some kind of mole man? The world’s getting weird, Bucky.”

It was the first time Clint had called him Bucky. He didn’t say anything about it. 

“You like this one?” Clint pointed at one of the rugs. 

“It’s fine,” Bucky said. “Do you want to be an Avenger?”

Clint called over a salesperson to arrange to have the rug delivered to Bucky’s apartment. “Sure,” he said. “It’s a good team. We’re doing good things. What kind of art do you like?”

“Why?” 

“We’re going to pick out stuff for you to hang on the wall,” Clint said. “No need to be hostile.” 

Bucky let Clint pick out some art and chairs for his apartment. They went to GameStop for a game console, and then they went back to Bucky’s for Clint to teach Bucky how to play. He knew Stark had been trying with Steve, but Steve didn’t really have any interest in video games. Bucky kind of liked them, though. 

“Feld’ll be contacting you tomorrow,” Clint said. “Don’t give him too much shit, okay? I’ll try to get Hill to let us go on missions together.”

“All right,” Bucky said, smiling despite himself. 

“Don’t smile so much,” Clint said. “You’re losing the serial killer vibe.”

:::

Bucky cut his hair. 

“You look good,” Clint said, when he was over the next week, watching the game with Bucky. He touched Bucky’s hair and made a little sound in his throat. 

Steve coughed. “How’s the SHIELD work?”

“Fine,” Bucky said. He didn’t like Colton, but he was good enough. Clint was still wearing Hill down. 

“Your place looks better,” Steve said. “Like someone actually lives here.”

Bucky jerked his thumb at Clint. “Thank him,” he said. “He said my place was creeping him out.”

“It was kind of bare,” Steve said. He gave Bucky a long look that Bucky couldn’t read, then switched on the television. 

It was Jets versus the Dolphins. They drank beer, talked shit, and yelled at the television. Jets won, and Bucky and Steve ripped on Clint for supporting Miami. Clint muttered about bad calls and how Miami would make a comeback. He and Clint argued for a long time about one of the fouls, and Clint called him an idiot, in an affectionate way that Bucky didn’t really know how to deal with. 

After Clint left, Steve again gave Bucky that same unreadable look. 

“What?” Bucky said. 

“You’re getting along with Clint well,” Steve said. 

“He’s not such a bad guy,” Bucky said. He got off the couch and started picking up the beer bottles. 

Steve kept looking at him. 

“Just say it, Steve,” Bucky said. 

“It’s nothing,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Just—you’re getting close.”

“So what?”

“Are you two…?” Steve gestured vaguely. 

“What? Jesus, Steve,” Bucky said. “No. We’re not doing anything.”

Steve held up his hands. “Sorry,” he said. “I just got a—I guess Tony would call it a vibe.”

“Stark thinks everyone’s fucking,” Bucky said. 

Steve laughed. “Yeah,” he said. “Forget I asked.”

“I will,” Bucky said. 

:::

Bucky went on a second mission with Colton to Brazil. More weapons, another low level arms dealer. Clint and the other Avengers took down a guy called the Absorbing Man. 

“I’m telling you,” Clint said, “the world’s getting weirder.”

They were on the roof of the Avengers Tower, drinking beers together. Stark still hadn’t found out that Bucky came to the Tower on a regular basis, or he didn’t care. 

“You ever meet Carol in accounting?” Clint asked. “Nice girl. Cute. I think you’d like her.”

“Are you trying to set me up with her?” Bucky said. 

“Yeah,” Clint said. “You should date. You’re starting to get normal. Good time get in a relationship.”

Steve had already tried to set Bucky up with a waitress he knew. It didn’t work out. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Bucky said. 

“Sure it is,” Clint said. “I already got her number for you.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “Here. Give her a call.”

Bucky took the piece of paper. “You dating anyone?” 

“Nah,” Clint said. “Just casual stuff.”

“You mean you just fuck guys,” Bucky said. 

Clint grinned. “Pretty much.”

“Then why do want me to date this girl?” Bucky said. 

“You like normal,” Clint said. “I know you do. This is normal.” He looked over at Bucky. “You gonna call her?”

“Yeah, sure,” Bucky said. 

He called Carol a few days later, and they set up a date for that Friday. She was a cute blonde girl, sweet. 

She didn’t ask about his past or Captain America. They talked mostly about her life and working for SHIELD. The conversation was easy, much easier than he’d been expecting.

“I’m surprised they put you with Colton,” she said. “I heard you and Barton worked well together.”

“Yeah, we did,” Bucky said. 

She kissed him on the cheek at the end of the night, told him she’d like to see him again. He smiled at her and said he’d like to see her too. 

“Next week?” she said.

“Sure,” he said. 

:::

“Carol’s a nice girl,” Natasha said. They were watching more of Lost, even though Bucky didn’t really understand what was happening on the show. “I’m glad you’re dating.”

“Being normal,” Bucky said. “Clint says I like being normal.”

“You do,” Natasha said. She looked over at Bucky. “Don’t you like her?”

“I do,” Bucky said. “But she’s--”

Natasha raised her eyebrow. 

“She wouldn’t get it,” Bucky said. 

“Your dark past? Everyone knows about that, James,” Natasha said. “She knows, and she still likes you. Don’t ruin this for yourself because you don’t think you deserve happiness.”

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. “You know, this is why I love you, Natalia,” he said. 

“Let yourself love someone else, too,” Natasha said. 

Bucky looked down. “What if there’s someone other than Carol?”

Natasha hummed. “Don’t let yourself ruin that either,” she said. “And don’t lead Carol on. I like her.” 

There was a short silence. Then Natasha said, “I spoke with Hill on your behalf. I think she’s going to let you go on a mission with Clint. Something bigger than what you’ve been doing.”

“Thanks,” Bucky said. 

“You’ve earned it,” Natasha said. 

:::

Deputy Director Hill called him to come in and see her. 

“Sit,” she said, when he entered her office. “Agents Barton and Romanoff have been fighting for you to be partnered with Barton again. Now, I don’t usually respond to tantrums. I don’t want to encourage them, and I have reasons for putting you with Colton.”

“Why’s that?” Bucky said. 

“Barton’s one of my best agents,” Hill said, “but he’s also an Avenger. I needed him to play nice for the media and keep up the Avengers’ image.”

“And now?”

“Now I need him in the field,” Hill said. “We’ve found the person moving all the weapons we’ve been tracking. I need my best agents to take him down.” She leaned forward. “I don’t believe you’ve earned your place here, not yet. But you’re better than most of the agents I have. I want you, Barton, and Romanoff on this one.”

“Natalia?” he said. “Aren’t you afraid we’ll be bad influences on each other?”

“Romanoff is only the third level ten agent we have,” Hill said. “I trust she can handle working with an old fling from her days as a Russian spy.”

She was trying to rile him up, but it didn’t bother him. “When’s the mission?”

“Be aware that I will personally be overseeing this mission,” Hill said. “Any screw-ups and you’re back with Colton. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Bucky said. “When’s the mission?”

“Tonight,” Hill said. “You’re going to Croatia.” 

:::

Natasha and Clint piloted the plane to Zagreb. This one wasn’t going to be easy. They were going to have to fight their way in, and Orlic had the men to hold them off. But Bucky had a good feeling about this one. 

Orlic didn’t know they were coming. They started with a quiet entry, the three of them taking out the first line of guards. Inside Orlic’s compound, there were twenty armed men. They took out a few silently before the others realized that they were under attack. The bullets started flying, but even though Orlic had the men, his men didn’t have the skills to hold up against as skilled a team as Natasha, Clint, and Bucky made. They worked together like they’d always been a team. 

When all the men were down, they called in the SHIELD team to clean up and seize the weapons in the compound. Orlic wasn’t there. 

“He’ll be on the move,” Natasha said. “We’ll try at his home, but he’ll know what happened soon. We got to move quick.”

They took one of the trucks at the compound and got over to Orlic’s home. He had guards there too, but not enough. They fought their way in and found Orlic in his bedroom. Orlic pulled out a gun but Clint shot it out of his hand. He tried for the window, but Natasha grabbed him and forced him to the ground.

“Stay down,” she said, and he did. 

The SHIELD clean-up crew came for Orlic soon after. Hill herself made an appearance. 

“You did good work,” she said. “I’ll consider sending you three on missions together in the future.”

“You know you will, Deputy Director,” Clint said. 

Hill frowned at him. “You’re dismissed.”

“We fucking kicked ass,” Clint said, as they boarded the plane to go home. “You know she’s going to send us out together again.”

“If you don’t piss her off,” Natasha said. She gave them both pointed looks. “Either of you.”

“We’ll be good, Nat,” Clint said. “Promise.”

:::

He, Clint, and Natasha made a habit of working out together, so that they started to sync up as a team. They learned each other’s moves, how each person fought. They made an excellent team, and Hill kept sending them out on missions together. She still didn’t like Bucky, but he didn’t need her to like him. 

They didn’t always go out on missions together. Sometimes he and Clint went alone while Natasha went on a related mission. 

“Technically she outranks us,” Clint said. They were staying in a shitty motel in Canada, spending the night to catch up with their target the next day. Another wannabe supervillain, but one that SHIELD had decided they would handle themselves. 

“What level am I?” Bucky asked.

“Officially? No level,” Clint said. He took off his shirt. Bucky had seen him shirtless before, but he’d never really noticed the scars that crisscrossed his back and chest. 

Clint saw him looking. “Yeah, I’m pretty messed up,” he said. “But you know what it’s like.” He nodded. “Let me see.”

Bucky stripped off his shirt. He had just as many scars as Clint, if not more. 

Clint crossed the room. “What’s this one from?” he said, touched a large scar on his right shoulder. 

“Sniper,” Bucky said. 

Clint traced his fingers down Bucky’s chest. “This one looks like a stab wound,” he said, stopping on scar on Bucky’s side. 

“Yeah,” Bucky said, low and quiet. 

“Mmm, this one looks dangerous,” Clint said, rubbing his thumb over a scar just above the edge of Bucky’s pants. “A little too close for comfort, huh?” He looked up at Bucky. 

“We gonna do this or what?” Bucky said. 

Clint laughed. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that,” he said, and pulled Bucky in for a kiss. They backed up against the wall, and Clint got his leg between Bucky’s legs and slid his tongue into Bucky’s mouth. 

It was rough and messy, and it didn’t take long before Bucky was hard and rubbing up against Clint’s thigh. 

“Yeah,” Clint said. “Yeah, we’re going this.” 

They moved over to Bucky’s bed, falling on it together. They moved together, without trying to take off their pants. 

“Let me—I want to touch you,” Clint said. He reached down between them and opened Bucky’s pants, pushing them down so that he could get his hand on Bucky’s cock. 

“Oh God,” Bucky said. He thrust into Clint’s hand, trying to make it last, just trying to last, but within a few thrusts, he was coming over Clint’s hand and stomach. 

He rolled off to the side, but when Clint undid his own pants and went to jerk himself off, he took a hold of Clint’s cock. He wasn’t really sure what to do, but he knew what felt good. He guessed it was a good enough effort, because Clint came with a groaned curse a few minutes later. 

They lay together in silence. 

“You gonna freak out?” Clint said. 

“No,” Bucky said. “I think I’ve wanted that for a while.”

“Good,” Clint said. “Me too.” He sat up. “When we get home, we can do it properly. Shit, you’re not still seeing Carol are you?”

“No, I broke up with her a while ago,” Bucky said. 

“Good,” Clint said again. 

“This isn’t just about fucking, is it?”

Clint got up and went into the bathroom to wash off the come on him. “No,” he said. “You can be my boyfriend and everything.” He sat next to Bucky and offered him a wet washcloth to clean himself off, and then he kicked off his pants. “Come here,” he said, lying down on the bed. “I like to cuddle.”

Bucky took off his pants and lay next to Clint, who put his arms around him and kissed his neck. “Now aren’t you glad you got me as a partner?” Clint said, closing his eyes. 

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “I don’t think Steve would give such a good handjob.”

Clint laughed. “Just wait until I blow you.”


End file.
